Marcela Aguila Rubín Degree in journalism, and professional experience in the press in Mexico and Switzerland. Focus : life and ageing. Writes in Spanish.
More
See in other languages: 6 - Deutsch
(de) Wegen Coronavirus mehr Patientenverfügungen - Español
(es) El coronavirus incita a otorgar testamento vital - Português
(pt) Coronavírus incita a deixar "testamento vital" - 中文
(zh) 新冠疫情促使人们思考''如何死去'' - Français
(fr) Les directives anticipées de fin de vie en forte hausse avec le coronavirus - Italiano
(it) Il coronavirus spinge a redigere il testamento biologico
"I would not like to end up as a vegetable. I don''t want to have to go through that. I don''t want to feel like I can''t breathe anymore,'' Susanne Degives, an 87-year-old from Geneva told the Swiss public broadcaster RTS in June. "I believe that people who have reached a certain age should just be let go in peace.''
She reached her conclusion as she saw people she knew suffering from the coronavirus – they underwent intensive therapy and have still not fully recovered. "They couldn''t speak, they couldn''t breathe, and two months later, they are still in poor health," she said.
This experience prompted Degives to make her own living will. Many others in Switzerland have been doing the same to ensure that they can decide what happens at the end of their lives.
What is a living will? In a living will, also known as an ''advance healthcare directive'' or ''patient decree'', a person states in advance what kinds of medical interventions they would want to keep them alive. Living wills only come into force if the person is no longer able to communicate or make a decision when it''s required.
Source: Pro Senectute
End of insertionUptick in certain language regions "In German-speaking Switzerland, before the coronavirus crisis, 50% of people over 65 had the paperwork for making a living will but had not completed it. We believe that the number of completed forms has now greatly increased," said Tatjana Kistler, a spokesperson for the advocacy organisation for the elderly Pro Senectute.
A survey commissioned by Pro Senectute in 2017, consisting of 1,200 telephone interviews with people between 18 and 99 years old, found that only 22% of people in Switzerland had made a living will. The largest share (47%) was people between 60 and 70 years old. The proportion of people who had made a living will in the German-speaking part of the country (27%) was over the national average, whereas in the French-speaking (10%) and Italian-speaking parts (5%) it was considerably lower.
But during the lockdown, demand for living will paperwork increased by more than 50% in French and Italian-speaking regions, according to Kistler.
--MENAFN297202000021011054ID1100558800-->